Gotham City
by cobhc94
Summary: Set two years after the Dark Knight Rises, and ten years after the Dark Knight, Batman investigates a series of crimes tracing back to the Joker, who he finds to have escaped Arkham after a decade of imprisonment. As he restlessly hunts for the Clown Prince of Crime, the Caped Crusader finds himself entangled in a massive conspiracy... and the Joker's greatest laugh of all.


**Director: Cobhc94**

**Cast:**

**Bruce Wayne/Batman – Christian Bale**

**Joker – Heath Ledger (Let's pretend he never died…)**

**Selina Kyle/Catwoman – Anne Hathaway**

**Alfred Pennyworth – Michael Caine**

**John Blake/Robin – Joseph Gordon-Levitt**

**Commisioner Jim Gordon – Gary Oldman**

**Harleen Quinzel/Harley Quinn - Alyson Hannigan**

**Oswald Cobblepott – Philip Seymour Hoffman**

**Mr. Freeze/Victor Fries – Ralph Fiennes**

**Edward Nygma/the Riddler – Johnny Depp**

**Lucius Fox – Morgan Freeman**

**Dr. Cavendish – Ben Kingsley**

**More characters will be added as they appear. Since Nolan won't direct a fourth film, I will take it upon myself, since I won't be able to stand watching some cheap copycat Batman reboot four years from now. This story takes place two years after the Dark Knight Rises, and the plot will be loosely based off the graphic novels "The Killing Joke", "Mad Love", and the 2001 video game "Batman Vengeance."**

"Hello," came the harsh voice of the Caped Crusader. Though it was an awkward attempt at friendliness, its grim and deep tone matched the dim setting of the room, an extremely dark prison cell with barred glass windows. Lightning flashed outside and the pouring rain battered against the window. The Dark Knight sat at a table, the man across from him was dressed in an Arkham jumpsuit, his face veiled by the shadows. On the table lay a deck of cards, which the man was silently playing with. Not any card game associated with casinos or child's play, but some random flipping in a sequence that only he likely understood. There was a long pause.

"I came to talk," Batman continued. "About you. About me. About what you said to me when I left you hanging on that building ten years ago."

The man across from him remained silent, merely continuing to flip his sequence of playing cards.

"You once said we were destined to do this forever. Yet here you are still, after all these years."

The figure across from him still hadn't spoken. He hadn't made any sort of motion besides his continuous flipping of his deck of cards, drawing from the top of the deck, and making rows of four. Then, he would randomly mix their positions before flipping them over, piling set after set on top of each other. This somewhat disturbed Batman, as a gut feeling was working up inside him. As if his companion's actions acted as a prelude to a terrible happening. Yet, he hadn't appeared hostile, so the Caped Crusader decided not to address it. Not yet. He pressed on.

I thought I'd never hear your name again, except for the mentions of the hell you once made of this city. Until the unfolding of recent events I never thought I'd see your face…" the Dark Knight paused as the man continued to flip his cards, as if completely unfazed by the presence of his interrogator. As if he wasn't even there. "Hey! Are you even listening to me, you-" His armored glove reached across the table, yanking the man's face into the faint beam of moonlight poking through the cell window. And the next thing he knew, the caped crusader was stricken with fear.

"WHEREEEE ISS HEEEEEEEEE?" He roared, shaking the terrified man and violently throwing him to the floor.

It had been too late after all, which was clear to the Batman when he glimpsed the man's face. This was not the man he was looking for, the man he thought he was conversing with, although he could have easily been fooled. The imposter was a middle aged white man, with mild facial resemblance; the same basic attributes. But those scars… that wicked ghoulish grin… with no makeup to accentuate the wounds, it was clear that the scars were fresh. The man he had been impersonating had sliced them into the cheeks of an Arkham inmate the way someone once had done to him. The inmate trembling at the Batman's feet was likely innocent of the entire affair. But that did nothing to quell the fury coursing through the Dark Knight's body, the fear shaking through his bones. The Batman picked up the inmate and pressed his throat against the wall with his forearm, choking and terrifying him.

"DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU'VE DONE?" Batman bellowed. "DO YOU HAVE ANY CLUE WHAT YOU'VE SET FREE?"

"Please don't kill me!" the inmate squealed, tears pouring down his frightened eyes, tainting with red as they dripped onto his freshly cut cheeks.

The alarms of Arkham Asylum went off. Red Lights were now blinking outside, and the sounds of frantic yells of guards, the cheers of lunatics, and the barking of dogs could be heard. For the first time in history, there had been an escape from the Supermax section of Arkham. The cell door opened.

"Batman!" a doctor yelled, running into the room. "That's enough! He needs medical and psychological treatment and I will not have you violate one of my patients in such an abusive manner!"

"Do you even understand what's going on?" Batman hissed in return. "That chaotic psychopath is back on the streets because of this piece of slime!" He toed the prisoner in the face, and stooped down to his level, looking at him face-to-face. "Now I'm going to ask you this _one_. _More_. _Time_, you worthless sack of skin." There was another pause. The alarms were still buzzing. The dogs continued to bark. "Where. Is he?"

On the steel table, the Joker card was facing up.


End file.
